Enter Sandman

How to play Enter Sandman by Metallica on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 2 you play D, Dm, Em, A, E, G and more, the shapes the player above shows.

Enter Sandman is a great riff-driven song to learn because it feels heavy, steady, and instantly recognizable. You get a strong down-the-middle groove that builds confidence fast, and the opening progression gives you a simple but powerful way to lock in the pulse.

Most of this chart sits in open shapes like E, Em, A, and G, but the harder barre shapes F#m, B, F#, and Bm will ask for clean fretting and quick hand shifts. The change to watch out for is the opening move between E and Em, since that back-and-forth has to stay tight and even.

Start by looping the opening E - Em - E - Em until the switch feels automatic. Then add the rest of the chord shapes slowly, checking each barre for clear notes before you raise the tempo. Once the changes are smooth, play along with the track and keep your strums steady.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.